Home Gym
cgvet37
Posts: 1,189 Member
I truly believe gyms will be shut down again, at least where I live. Going three months before was difficult both mentally and physically. I decided it was time for a garage gym. I ordered a Rogue SML-2 squat stand, Texas power bar, Titan adjustable bench, TAG Olympic plates, FRAY bumper plates, and Titan loadable dumbells. More equipment to be added overtime.
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I have so stuff in the 3rd stall of our garage. Our gym reopened (but IL the governor will probably shut us down again, even though my gym has had 45k people check in since reopening and no issues) so go there for leg day, upper body work at home. Can use the garage until about November but too cold and will have to shut down until probably March. Will have to do big clean out job to move stuff to the basement.
Sounds like you have a good set up. I saw this article a couple years ago by Dean Sommerset on his personal basement gym. Pretty good in that he explains why he got some things and is skipping others. Some thoughts if you want to expand.
https://deansomerset.com/building-the-basement-of-champions-how-to-build-a-legendary-home-gym/1 -
This whole corona thing happened just as I was considering starting swimming and maybe joining a gym... stuff has partially opened since then? But I kinda don't want to risk it or spend money on it atm. I've gotten myself a 2nd pair of adjustable dumbbells, some resistance bands, a kettlebell, and a new workout mat... I think I'm set for a while (minus maybe getting some heavier weights eventually)1
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I have been building my home gym over the last five years. I started with the Rogue SML-1, Ohio power bar, some black iron 45 pound plates. Over the years I have continually bought and sold making profit on my sales to reinvest in better equipment, new or used. I treat my home gym like a business.
I just recently replaced my Olympic plate storage rack and dumbbell rack.
These two were upgrades over the last which were previously upgrades in themselves.
You are off to a good start 👍
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I got caught of guard when my gym closed in the spring. I had to scramble and get what I could when I could. I am finally set up for now. All I can see is upgrading my rack and bars as needed, and maybe a little more weight, currently have 685lbs of plates.
DIY 8X8 Platform
7' Oly bar
SSB
685lbs of plates
Loadable DBs
Cage
Adjustable bench2 -
this is what I have atm + 2 sets of ankle weights3 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »I have so stuff in the 3rd stall of our garage. Our gym reopened (but IL the governor will probably shut us down again, even though my gym has had 45k people check in since reopening and no issues) so go there for leg day, upper body work at home. Can use the garage until about November but too cold and will have to shut down until probably March. Will have to do big clean out job to move stuff to the basement.
Sounds like you have a good set up. I saw this article a couple years ago by Dean Sommerset on his personal basement gym. Pretty good in that he explains why he got some things and is skipping others. Some thoughts if you want to expand.
https://deansomerset.com/building-the-basement-of-champions-how-to-build-a-legendary-home-gym/
Thankfully my garage is well insulated, even the garage door.0 -
Everything has arrived except for my barbell. They are two weeks past the ship date.1
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I’ve been building my home gym for over 2 year. Everything pictured below except for the rogue equipment was purchased used and 95% of it is commercial.
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Not pictured above, I also have a concept 2 model B and a life fitness summit climber.1
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Fantastic basement gym there @Dogmom1978. I wish I had more room to spread out in mine, I would had some more equipment.1
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I truly believe gyms will be shut down again, at least where I live. Going three months before was difficult both mentally and physically. I decided it was time for a garage gym. I ordered a Rogue SML-2 squat stand, Texas power bar, Titan adjustable bench, TAG Olympic plates, FRAY bumper plates, and Titan loadable dumbells. More equipment to be added overtime.
Good planning!
Just curious, what state do you live in? (Or country if not in US.)0 -
The gyms in my county haven't reopened yet (in 6 months).
Fortunately, I have all the gear I need at home. Nothing like the home gym pictured above but more than enough gear to meet my needs.1 -
kshama2001 wrote: »I truly believe gyms will be shut down again, at least where I live. Going three months before was difficult both mentally and physically. I decided it was time for a garage gym. I ordered a Rogue SML-2 squat stand, Texas power bar, Titan adjustable bench, TAG Olympic plates, FRAY bumper plates, and Titan loadable dumbells. More equipment to be added overtime.
Good planning!
Just curious, what state do you live in? (Or country if not in US.)
Indiana. We are considered a "hot" state. I'm seeing reports of a surge in cases. So, I have a feeling our Governor will start shutting things down again. I just hope my bar gets shipped soon.0 -
The gyms in my county haven't reopened yet (in 6 months).
Fortunately, I have all the gear I need at home. Nothing like the home gym pictured above but more than enough gear to meet my needs.
We started building the home gym over 2 years ago and it took a lot of patience to find the stuff we wanted at prices we were willing to pay. The FT doesn’t really fit, so we had to move the gym mat to make it fit.0 -
I got a Weider (I know that's not a great brand name) Total Gym knock off for $150 from Walmart. I also have 50 lb Bowflex Dumbbells, but I'm getting too old (and have a bad back) to lift heavy weights with barbells. If I end up getting a barbell, it will likely be for a Landmine setup, which would take care of all my lifting needs. I do around 300 to 400 pushups a week and row a lot, so I work my muscles quite a bit already, I'd just like to do a bit more.
But I've had older model Total Gyms and I bought that Weider one for my stepson around 4 years ago. It's just as good as the Total Gym lower tier ones. For someone like me, that has limited space (we really don't but we have one entire bedroom already filled with cardio equipment and the wife said, "no more!"), it's a great option.2 -
Total gyms are low end trash and can be often found for free online (free cycle, offer up, Facebook marketplace, etc). I would recommend no one waste any actual money on one.1
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I scored another set of Cap Barbell plates, 335 pounds for $75 from Craigslist. I kept the extra pairs of 25, 35, 10, 5 (they were pretty damn accurate) but sold the rest. Reinvested into new plates from Rep. I had sold my other old mismatch plates sets (5 pairs) over the last few months and saved that too to reinvest.
Decided against purchasing highly accurate calibrated plates for many reasons, but most of all the costs. I just use these five pairs of Rep plates for squat and deadlift or lower body work.
All my change plates now have have a home.
I have a pair of these and two more pair on order. I use these plates for bench and upper body because they are more accurate. 45.8 pounds a piece. Perfect.
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Dogmom1978 wrote: »Total gyms are low end trash and can be often found for free online (free cycle, offer up, Facebook marketplace, etc). I would recommend no one waste any actual money on one.
I used one for nearly four years and got pretty strong using it. I'm not 20 any more, but I'm built OK. I get asked all the time if I played college football. As a matter of fact, we had one nearly five years and sold it for $100 (bought it new for $299 at a Meijer). As much as we used it, I was happy with the return on investment.
You spend a lot of time on a lot of threads insulting anything I say, it seems. No gym is worth anything if it doesn't get used. It was just a suggestion for people if they want options, because benches, bars and free weights are extremely expensive right now and hard to come by.
And not everyone is interested in working out with free weights. The machines you have are great (I love your gym!) and it sounds like you find fantastic deals (perhaps as a suggestion, you could show people your tips instead of just insulting them. Might be more productive and positive -- seems you're really good at finding cheap or free stuff), but most of the folks on here, like me, have limited space and time to look for used workout equipment.
Here's the one I got at Walmart for $150 new just last month. They are now selling it for around $300, but Kohl's is selling it for $160 right now.
https://www.kohls.com/product/prd-599052/weider-total-body-works-5000.jsp?skuid=90817816&ci_mcc=ci&utm_campaign=FITNESS EQUIPMENT&utm_medium=CSE&utm_source=bing&CID=shopping20&utm_campaignid=380493023&utm_adgroupid=1230353719422949&msclkid=4b3e649427cc1922ff203be74cea431c&gclid=4b3e649427cc1922ff203be74cea431c&gclsrc=3p.ds
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The best thing about a home gym over fees and membership at a globo is that the individual can customize their particular workout space according to their goals and preferred method of training. I love the diversity of it.2
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How to find cheap equipment:
Shop the used markets in your area. Spend more time there than you do here. Craigslist, offer up, let go, free cycle, Facebook marketplace.
The crazy hot deals go FAST (yesterday C2 model C pm3 in CT for $150 in pristine condition, was marked pending in 5 min on Facebook).
You will miss more deals than you get, no matter how hard you try to get them.
If space is an issue: look for good used deals on adjustable dumbbells (I prefer powerblocks or iron masters; Boflex and similar are not made as well).
Again, if you want cheap junk, you can get boflex gyms and total gyms free fairly easily on any of the above mentioned platforms. Sorry, but they ARE junk, I can’t change that. A better option would be a FID bench and adjustable dumbbells.
If I had no space and had to cut back, I would keep the FID bench, powerblocks, power rack, and FT as my must haves.0 -
The best thing about a home gym over fees and membership at a globo is that the individual can customize their particular workout space according to their goals and preferred method of training. I love the diversity of it.
You are absolutely correct. Also I can listen to my music without wearing earbuds, and I can be as loud as I want to be. I can't wait to cancel my gym membership.3 -
I scored another set of Cap Barbell plates, 335 pounds for $75 from Craigslist. I kept the extra pairs of 25, 35, 10, 5 (they were pretty damn accurate) but sold the rest. Reinvested into new plates from Rep. I had sold my other old mismatch plates sets (5 pairs) over the last few months and saved that too to reinvest.
Decided against purchasing highly accurate calibrated plates for many reasons, but most of all the costs. I just use these five pairs of Rep plates for squat and deadlift or lower body work.
All my change plates now have have a home.
I have a pair of these and two more pair on order. I use these plates for bench and upper body because they are more accurate. 45.8 pounds a piece. Perfect.
Calibrated plates are nice, but unless you are competing on a regular basis, I don't see them being worth it. I haven't weighed my plates, but I'm not really concerned. I bought the same brand as the gym I go to has. They were in stock, when a lot of companies were sold out.2 -
I scored another set of Cap Barbell plates, 335 pounds for $75 from Craigslist. I kept the extra pairs of 25, 35, 10, 5 (they were pretty damn accurate) but sold the rest. Reinvested into new plates from Rep. I had sold my other old mismatch plates sets (5 pairs) over the last few months and saved that too to reinvest.
Decided against purchasing highly accurate calibrated plates for many reasons, but most of all the costs. I just use these five pairs of Rep plates for squat and deadlift or lower body work.
All my change plates now have have a home.
I have a pair of these and two more pair on order. I use these plates for bench and upper body because they are more accurate. 45.8 pounds a piece. Perfect.
Calibrated plates are nice, but unless you are competing on a regular basis, I don't see them being worth it. I haven't weighed my plates, but I'm not really concerned. I bought the same brand as the gym I go to has. They were in stock, when a lot of companies were sold out.
I have been competing in powerlifting for the last 6 now entering my 7th year and am also a state ref and certified coach for one of the larger powerlifting federations, but I just couldn't justify all the costs involved. What I have functions just fine and am able to make gains. Big thing for me was if the plates angled deadlifting on the bar -- instead of standing vertical. These plates fit tight and do not angle on the bar. I trained for many years without calibrated equipment and did just fine. I have two pairs of the standard rep plates (4 total) that weigh 47 pounds -- matching pairs. The calibrated 25 kilos discs weigh around 55 pounds. Despite all this, you can't skip on a barbell, if you compete. I think everything else for the home setup is negotiable.
How are you liking the Rep plates?1 -
I keep a spreadsheet of everything I own and to track incoming and outgoing buys and spends. Other than the Rogue equipment which I purchased new, my gym had been largely funded by pre-Covid flips. I have never wanted to use my families income on my hobby so I have for a long time I have run my home gym as a business. One of the best methods was to find something I wanted in a larger lot, buy that whole lot, keep the item I wanted and flip the surplus to not only get the thing I wanted for basically free, but to raise more funds for the next buy. There are different tactics I use for flipping equipment which I won't go into here.MikePfirrman wrote: »
The 7 pairs of 45's I had before were paid by flipping and buying low, and then selling for profit. It's pretty cool when other people pay for your equipment.2 -
I scored another set of Cap Barbell plates, 335 pounds for $75 from Craigslist. I kept the extra pairs of 25, 35, 10, 5 (they were pretty damn accurate) but sold the rest. Reinvested into new plates from Rep. I had sold my other old mismatch plates sets (5 pairs) over the last few months and saved that too to reinvest.
Decided against purchasing highly accurate calibrated plates for many reasons, but most of all the costs. I just use these five pairs of Rep plates for squat and deadlift or lower body work.
All my change plates now have have a home.
I have a pair of these and two more pair on order. I use these plates for bench and upper body because they are more accurate. 45.8 pounds a piece. Perfect.
Calibrated plates are nice, but unless you are competing on a regular basis, I don't see them being worth it. I haven't weighed my plates, but I'm not really concerned. I bought the same brand as the gym I go to has. They were in stock, when a lot of companies were sold out.
I have been competing in powerlifting for the last 6 now entering my 7th year and am also a state ref and certified coach for one of the larger powerlifting federations, but I just couldn't justify all the costs involved. What I have functions just fine and am able to make gains. Big thing for me was if the plates angled deadlifting on the bar -- instead of standing vertical. These plates fit tight and do not angle on the bar. I trained for many years without calibrated equipment and did just fine. I have two pairs of the standard rep plates (4 total) that weigh 47 pounds -- matching pairs. The calibrated 25 kilos discs weigh around 55 pounds. Despite all this, you can't skip on a barbell, if you compete. I think everything else for the home setup is negotiable.
How are you liking the Rep plates?
The plates I ordered are from TAG fitness. I agree that a bar is the most important piece of equipment. That's why I went with a Texas power bar. Too bad they can't deliver on the the time frame listed on their website.2 -
@cgvet37 and @M93KG -- I'm looking into getting a landmine setup. I'm 56 and have a terrible right knee and an off and on bad back, but I'm also not weak either (until hurting my back in 2018, I was a very competitive regional indoor rower, which takes quite a bit of functional strength and endurance. I competed mostly against top flight Crossfitters and former College crew rowers).
I like the idea of a landmine setup because they are so versatile. I think for my purposes, it would be a fantastic investment and aside from a weight bench, all I really still need (or want, I should say).
What bar do you think I should be looking for? A 6 foot Olympic Bar? I've never really been into barbells as my right knee pretty much would buckle structurally under really heavy weights. I will never be mistaken for a power lifter, so the most I'd likely put on it would be around 150 to 200 lbs. and most of the time less than that.0 -
MikePfirrman wrote: »@cgvet37 and @M93KG -- I'm looking into getting a landmine setup. I'm 56 and have a terrible right knee and an off and on bad back, but I'm also not weak either (until hurting my back in 2018, I was a very competitive regional indoor rower, which takes quite a bit of functional strength and endurance. I competed mostly against top flight Crossfitters and former College crew rowers).
I like the idea of a landmine setup because they are so versatile. I think for my purposes, it would be a fantastic investment and aside from a weight bench, all I really still need (or want, I should say).
What bar do you think I should be looking for? A 6 foot Olympic Bar? I've never really been into barbells as my right knee pretty much would buckle structurally under really heavy weights. I will never be mistaken for a power lifter, so the most I'd likely put on it would be around 150 to 200 lbs. and most of the time less than that.
If you are just going to use it for a landmine, a 6 foot Olympic bar would be just fine.2 -
@cgvet37 -- thank you, that's the way I was leaning. But it's good to have the confirmation from someone that knows a lot more than I do about it.0
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I keep a spreadsheet of everything I own and to track incoming and outgoing buys and spends. Other than the Rogue equipment which I purchased new, my gym had been largely funded by pre-Covid flips. I have never wanted to use my families income on my hobby so I have for a long time I have run my home gym as a business. One of the best methods was to find something I wanted in a larger lot, buy that whole lot, keep the item I wanted and flip the surplus to not only get the thing I wanted for basically free, but to raise more funds for the next buy. There are different tactics I use for flipping equipment which I won't go into here.MikePfirrman wrote: »
The 7 pairs of 45's I had before were paid by flipping and buying low, and then selling for profit. It's pretty cool when other people pay for your equipment.
My entire home gym was entirely funded by pre covid gym flipping and then we just kept going and turned it into a second income. 😊0
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